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Processing and sintering of yttrium-doped tungsten oxide nanopowders to tungsten-based composites

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Abstract

Innovative chemical methods are capable of fabricating nanoscale tungsten oxide compounds doped with various rare-earth elements with high purity and homogeneity, which can be processed under hydrogen into nanostructured oxide-dispersed tungsten composite powders having several potential applications. However, hydrogen reduction of doped tungsten oxide compounds is rather complex, affecting the morphology and composition of the final powder. In this study, we have investigated the reduction of tungstic acid in the presence of Y and we provide the experimental evidence that Y2O3 can be separated from Y-doped tungstic acid via hydrogen reduction to produce Y2O3-W powders. The processed powders were further consolidated by spark plasma sintering at different temperatures and holding times at 75 MPa pressure and characterized. The optimized SPS conditions suggest sintering at 1400 °C for 3 min holding time to achieve higher density composites with an optimum finer grain size (3 µm) and a hardness value up to 420 H V. Major grain growth takes place at temperatures above 1300 °C during sintering. From the density values obtained, it is recommend to apply higher pressure before 900 °C to obtain maximum density. Oxides inclusions present in the matrix were identified as Y2O3·3WO3 and Y2O3·WO3 during high resolution microscopic investigations.

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Acknowledgements

Authors of the work are thankful to Prof. John Ågren and Dr. Peter Hedström at Department of Materials Science and Engineering-KTH, Oskar Karlsson at Swerea-Kimab AB, for EBSD and hardness measurements. Dr. M. Waldenström at Sandvik AB is acknowledged for providing APT. M. A. Yar is grateful to Higher Education Commission (HEC), Government of Pakistan for financial support during his PhD studies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Functional Materials Division-ICT, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), 164 40, Stockholm, Sweden

    Mazher Ahmed Yar, Sverker Wahlberg, Mohammad Omar Abuelnaga & Mamoun Muhammed

  2. Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden

    Mats Johnsson

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  1. Mazher Ahmed Yar
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  2. Sverker Wahlberg
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Correspondence to Mazher Ahmed Yar or Mamoun Muhammed.

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Yar, M.A., Wahlberg, S., Abuelnaga, M.O. et al. Processing and sintering of yttrium-doped tungsten oxide nanopowders to tungsten-based composites. J Mater Sci 49, 5703–5713 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-014-8289-x

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